Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1887-07-08
SAVED FROM DEATH.
DANGEROUS OPERATION ON AN
ITALIAN WOMAN.

The Abdomen Opened and an Obstruction
Remoyed-Aiter Lingering for Week the
Patient Improves and viii Recover
New York special to The Cincinnati
Enquirer: An operation by which the
abdomen of patient was opened ana
Intestinal troubles successfully treated
was recently performed at the Charity
Hospital which has excited much inter-
est in the medical profession. The case
was one of those rare ones that appear
hardly once in a hundred years. Even
then the conditions are never fully
known until an examination is made
after death. There is only one other
case on record in which similar oper-
alton was tried, and the end of this was
the death of the patient from heart
failure, before the incision in the body
had been closed.
Rachel Ricardo, middle-aged Ital-
ian woman was the patient operated
upon.
THE HISTORY OF HER CASE
Shows that she has been Il sufferer from
the most intense pain in the abdominal
region, the effect of which is plainly
marked on the woman's face and the
white hair, which began to turn as she
suffered. Her aliment was thought at
first to be simple case of constipation
which she had suffered all her life and
the Italian physician in Mulberry
Bend gave her purgatives without
stint These afforded relief for while,
but their virtue soon ended, and their
The constipation became unusually
obstinate, the absence of intestinal ac-
tivity, covering period of months.
She was troubled with nausea all the
time and frequently vomited greenish
liquid that was very offensive and con-
tanned large amount of bile. No at
tention was given to her diet, and
the coarse food used by Italians added
considerably to her misery. Her body
turned to deep yellow, indicating an
active discharge of bile and Interrupt
ton of its regular removal.
When brought to the hospital she
was in delirous condition. If nature
had not taken this means of giving the
woman relief, she would have died in
her humble home, and an opportunity
would have been missed to demonstrate
the advance that has been made in sur
gerry and surgical skill. Her symptoms
indicate that she has a mechanic al OBJ
struction in the intestine It's nature
was conjectural. 1t might be due to
structure, a tumor, or solid growth in
the intestine, spasm or impacted feces,
but there was no means whereby it
could be determined with certainty.
The entire abdomen was the seat of
an active inflammation with great ten
derness. In fact, so tender was the
abdomen that the touch of finger OF
sheet would bring on violent spasm,
in which the body would be
THROWN INTO ALL SORTS OF CoNToR
TIONS
| And the intestine would become knot.
| ted and twist around with snakelike
| movements, which were plainly visible
| from the external surface. Nature was
doing heroic work to get rid of the
obstruction, whatever its character
| might be, and this was shown in fire.
quent violent cramps and bearing down
| movements of the abdominal muscles.
As soon as it had been definitely set
| tied that there was an intestinal OBJ
| struction an effort was made to reduce
| the inflammation. Leeches were set
| to work on the abdomen and chest.
Hip baths were given at regular inter
walls and large doses of opium admin
istered. The patients system was not
sensitive to the action of opiates and
she could take enough at one dose to
destroy the life of dozen people.
This treatment had the desired effect.
| The inflammation subsidized to some ex-
tent enough to remove the patient
from the delirious state, and make hel
fully alive to every pain. Then il
could be seen how badly she suffered
She begged for opium, and it was given
to her until it was not safe to give any
more, but this did not give relief. She
prayed for death. The only way il
which she could be kept quiet was by
! placing a handkerchief saturated with
ether over her face. The patient wa.
in such agony and the pain in the alb
domen covered such large surfac
that she could not locate the plac,
where the obstruction was An at
tempt was made to do it by introducin!
n rubber tube into the intestine
Twenty feet of tube was put in, ant
then it was seen that the tube ha,
doubled up, and nothing was found O
value.
There was only one thing to be done
and that was to open the abdomen
There was so much inflammation tina
it was considered to be certain death Il
do this, but there was a chance tina
some good might be done. Dr.. Allen
the consulting surgeon. will take .
chance every time. The patient wa.
put under
COURSE OF SPECIAL PREPARATION
For week, and was then taken t.
the ampitheater where there were